This chapter describes the enormous range of alcohol-related consequences within two broad categories: alcohol's contribution to the burden of illness carried by individuals and societies; and ...
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This chapter describes the enormous range of alcohol-related consequences within two broad categories: alcohol's contribution to the burden of illness carried by individuals and societies; and alcohol's harmful effect on the social fabric of families, communities, and nations. It also discusses the potential health benefits of moderate alcohol use. The chapter begins with a discussion of how epidemiologists establish causal relations between drinking and its consequences. It then reviews the evidence on health consequences in three different frames: 1) the role of alcohol in the global burden of disease and disability; 2) alcohol and all-cause mortality; and 3) the relation of alcohol to specific causes of death and disease. The relation of drinking to different types of social problems is then considered. A case study of the Russian experience during the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-7 is used to illustrate the potential changes in health and social problems that follow from reductions in alcohol consumption. The available evidence on the relative magnitude of health and social problems from drinking is also considered.Less

The global burden of alcohol consumption

Published in print: 2010-02-25

This chapter describes the enormous range of alcohol-related consequences within two broad categories: alcohol's contribution to the burden of illness carried by individuals and societies; and alcohol's harmful effect on the social fabric of families, communities, and nations. It also discusses the potential health benefits of moderate alcohol use. The chapter begins with a discussion of how epidemiologists establish causal relations between drinking and its consequences. It then reviews the evidence on health consequences in three different frames: 1) the role of alcohol in the global burden of disease and disability; 2) alcohol and all-cause mortality; and 3) the relation of alcohol to specific causes of death and disease. The relation of drinking to different types of social problems is then considered. A case study of the Russian experience during the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985-7 is used to illustrate the potential changes in health and social problems that follow from reductions in alcohol consumption. The available evidence on the relative magnitude of health and social problems from drinking is also considered.

Drug use represents a significant burden to public health, through disease, disability and social problems, and policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in how to develop evidence-based ...
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Drug use represents a significant burden to public health, through disease, disability and social problems, and policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in how to develop evidence-based drug policy. It is therefore crucial to strengthen the links between addiction science and drug policy. Drug Policy and the Public Good is collaboratively written by an international group of career scientists, to provide an analytical basis on which to build relevant global drug policies, and to inform policy makers who have direct responsibility for public health and social welfare. Drug Policy and the Public Good presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on illicit drugs that has direct relevance to the development of drug policy on local, national, and international levels. The authors describe the conceptual basis for a rational drug policy, and present new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of drug misuse. The core of the book is a critical review of the cumulative scientific evidence in five general areas of drug policy: primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; supply reduction approaches, including drug interdiction and legal enforcement; treatment interventions and harm reduction approaches; criminal sanctions and decriminalization; and control of the legal market through prescription drug regimes. The final chapters discuss the current state of drug policy in different parts of the world, and describe the need for a new approach to drug policy that is evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated.Less

Drug Policy and the Public Good

Published in print: 2009-12-10

Drug use represents a significant burden to public health, through disease, disability and social problems, and policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in how to develop evidence-based drug policy. It is therefore crucial to strengthen the links between addiction science and drug policy. Drug Policy and the Public Good is collaboratively written by an international group of career scientists, to provide an analytical basis on which to build relevant global drug policies, and to inform policy makers who have direct responsibility for public health and social welfare. Drug Policy and the Public Good presents the accumulated scientific knowledge on illicit drugs that has direct relevance to the development of drug policy on local, national, and international levels. The authors describe the conceptual basis for a rational drug policy, and present new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of drug misuse. The core of the book is a critical review of the cumulative scientific evidence in five general areas of drug policy: primary prevention programs in schools and other settings; supply reduction approaches, including drug interdiction and legal enforcement; treatment interventions and harm reduction approaches; criminal sanctions and decriminalization; and control of the legal market through prescription drug regimes. The final chapters discuss the current state of drug policy in different parts of the world, and describe the need for a new approach to drug policy that is evidence-based, realistic, and coordinated.

This chapter examines the concept of emergence in relation to the common conception of neighbourhood. It attempts to link the complexity concept of an order parameter with the policy concept of ...
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This chapter examines the concept of emergence in relation to the common conception of neighbourhood. It attempts to link the complexity concept of an order parameter with the policy concept of upstream interventions in social problems. The chapter introduces the concept of environment press and explores this idea with a novel study of the outdoor participation of people with dementia. It proposes a causal model of the neighbourhood system.Less

Emergence and environment press

Tim Blackman

Published in print: 2006-10-18

This chapter examines the concept of emergence in relation to the common conception of neighbourhood. It attempts to link the complexity concept of an order parameter with the policy concept of upstream interventions in social problems. The chapter introduces the concept of environment press and explores this idea with a novel study of the outdoor participation of people with dementia. It proposes a causal model of the neighbourhood system.

This chapter discusses a case study of the Brown University Superfund Research Program, in which academic researchers and state agency personnel collaborated with community activists in developing ...
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This chapter discusses a case study of the Brown University Superfund Research Program, in which academic researchers and state agency personnel collaborated with community activists in developing legislation to give temporary financial relief to residents of a contaminated neighborhood while they awaited cleanup. Relationships between stakeholders in cases involving contaminated sites are often contentious, in part because biomedical and engineering scientists are not trained to recognize and address the social problems that accompany the environmental hazards. By creating opportunities for cooperation, outreach efforts that make the research results more accessible can begin to repair trust among stakeholders and thus may pave the way for speedier site cleanup and reuse. This case study also shows how the inclusion of social scientists in a research translation and outreach program can contribute to a broader understanding of the social and political contexts that shape interactions between professionals and affected communities.Less

The Brown Superfund Research Program : A Multistakeholder Partnership Addresses Problems in Contaminated Communities

Published in print: 2011-12-26

This chapter discusses a case study of the Brown University Superfund Research Program, in which academic researchers and state agency personnel collaborated with community activists in developing legislation to give temporary financial relief to residents of a contaminated neighborhood while they awaited cleanup. Relationships between stakeholders in cases involving contaminated sites are often contentious, in part because biomedical and engineering scientists are not trained to recognize and address the social problems that accompany the environmental hazards. By creating opportunities for cooperation, outreach efforts that make the research results more accessible can begin to repair trust among stakeholders and thus may pave the way for speedier site cleanup and reuse. This case study also shows how the inclusion of social scientists in a research translation and outreach program can contribute to a broader understanding of the social and political contexts that shape interactions between professionals and affected communities.